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Chamber of Deputies of Paraguay Awarded OAS Secretary General with the “Comuneros” Meritorious Medal of Honor

A multi-party delegation of the Chamber of Deputies of Paraguay, headed by the President of this body, Juan Bartolomé Ramírez, visited today the headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, D.C., to award the OAS Secretary General, José Miguel Insulza, with the “Comuneros” Meritorious Medal of Honor.

The resolution, adopted by the Chamber to confer the award, recognizes Secretary General Insulza "for the invaluable and outstanding role he played within the OAS as a key actor and institutional manager in defense of the respect for national sovereignty, the principles of self-determination of peoples, and the non-intervention in internal affairs, the supremacy of the national constitution that recognizes and abides by international treaties and agreements approved and ratified for the promotion of multilateral pacts for the pursuit of peace, the strengthening of democracy, the rule of law, and the promotion of human rights."

At the ceremony, President Ramírez summarized the events that took place in his country in June 2012, noting that it was "a very difficult time for Paraguayan institutions as a tragic event occurred that led to the death of dozens of citizens and triggered events that led to the trial of then President Fernando Lugo.” He recalled that the National Parliament decided to impeach the then President, which he described as "a very difficult decision for all democrats, and it was precisely the OAS that came to ensure the principle of the self-determination of peoples, a task that, despite of the difficult decisions that were made, ended with the accompaniment of a democratic election last April that was the confirmation that we had acted in the proper manner."

In his speech, the Secretary General said that "we all know that the events in Paraguay last year were a subject of difficult debate and analysis in this organization." "Despite being divided in our opinions in many aspects, what prevailed within the Permanent Council’s discussions was the willingness to discuss this issue from the proper perspective, with respect for the positions of all, and avoiding that this situation may leave a trace of division and conflict within the Organization," he added.

"In that regard, what happened was an example of democracy that leaves a valuable lesson, and that is that it is perfectly possible to bring to the OAS positions, to disagree and to adopt resolutions," he said, recalling how the Permanent Council decided to respect his prerogative to contribute to the strengthening of democracy in Paraguay, beyond the positions of different countries.

When receiving the award, the leader of the hemispheric institution said that he accepts it "as a way to put an end to a process that we have experienced, discussed and learned to respect." "This organization is strengthened not only when acting unanimously, but also when we disagree while respecting the prerogative of each individual," he concluded.

A gallery of photos of the event is available here.

The B-roll of the event is available here.

For more information, please visit the OAS Website at www.oas.org.

Reference: E-359/13